Left: American tourists are surprised by the range at the Fifth-Generation Successor Instrument Store, in Kashgar. It makes and stocks not only Uygur instruments but also those of various ethnic groups in Central Asia. Right: The world's biggest dutar and rawap come from the Fifth-Generation Successor Instrument Store. Mamatmin Aisajan, the family's second eldest brother, says they will break more world records in the future.

When Swedish Sinologist Gunnar Jarring visited Kashgar in 1930, he saw masses of people of different ethnicities and wealthy merchants riding horseback. As dusk fell, he heard faint music resonating from one of the houses - then from another, and another, and another.

The Swede was hearing dutar (two-stringed lute) being plucked as the residents of the city sang Uygur folk songs.

As the evening became darker and darker, the alleyway filled with smoke and the smells of nighttime.

Kashgar is a very different city today. But there is one alley that is still saturated with the feel of olden times. And all along Usteng Boyi Street, the same melodies that intrigued Jarring more than 70 years ago still linger in the evening air.

For centuries, craftsmen along this street have been fashioning their wares and passing along the traditional arts of Xinjiang, making Usteng Boyi a nationally famous street. Pottery, musical instruments, locally woven clothing, gold and silver jewelry - all sorts of goods from the autonomous region can be found here.

On a sunny afternoon, I was wandering among the density of stores and workshops lining Usteng Boyi Street. Housed in small bungalows, these shops have perhaps been here for hundreds of years.

I entered one of the shops from which music emanated. The store was stocked with a plethora of instruments, many of which I didn't know the names of. They lined the shelves, tables and even the floor of the place.

Left: "That's my grandfather. This is my father. We are the fifth generation of instrument makers in our family," says the first brother Mamat Tursun as he stands in front of the family's archives. Right: Many musicians throughout Xinjiang come to the Fifth-Generation Successor Instrument Store to look for instruments.